THIS SITE HAS MOVED!!!

The new site is officially up and running!!

Be sure to head over and check it out (and update your links and readers)!!

www.25hourbooks.com

Flashlight Worthy

Have you heard of Flashlight Worthy? I can’t believe I had never come across it before. It’s a website full of handpicked book lists on hundreds of topics. Since my TBR list is sooo short I better add to it…. riiiiiiight…..

(read rest of post here)

Who Am I Stalking? {2} Ooh Books!

This feature isn’t nearly as creepy as it sounds… at least I hope not.

Here is where I shine the spotlight on a fellow book blogger

that has earned a spot in my GoogleReader.

This week I’m featuring Cara at Ooh Books!

I came across Cara’s book blog when I was just starting 25 Hour Books. Not long after she contacted me about making a button for her weekly poetry posts, FreeVerse. I try to participate in FreeVerse as often as I can and have also stolen her approach to Friday Firsts. She changed the name to Opening Passages and shares the beginning of a short story that you can read for free online. She writes amazing book reviews from all different genres. I love that she always includes whether reading the book was worth her time and why. She has an MD and hopes to work for a literary agency or publishing house. Edit: She is now planning on being an author!! I’m so excited to see what she comes up with!

So how did she make it into my GoogleReader and how has she stayed there? I love that she reviews books from all genres. I’ve come across many books that have now been added to my TBR pile. She also writes fantastic author interviews. Add that to her FreeVerse and Opening Passages and you have a must-read blog!

My Favorite Posts

FreeVerse: The Vampire’s Reflection

I know it’s so shocking that I liked this one… It really is a great poem with beautiful analogies.

In Which You Get a Glimpse of My Life and a Cocktail

This post helped me feel like I wasn’t so alone. I’m also a college graduate (granted I don’t have an MD) that isn’t really interested in going into a career that fits with their degree. You also learn how to make a cocktail!

Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

A really, really great review of one of the best YA books I’ve read recently.

Friday Firsts: The Regime of Austerity

I LOVED this short story. Thank you again for finding it and sharing it!!

Mini-Interview

1. Why did you start a book blog?

I decided I wanted to be a literary scout or editor, but I knew no one would ever give me an internship at a literary agency or publishing house with a biology degree and an MD. Who’d believe me when I told them I was passionate about books and loved to read? So I started the blog as proof, proof that I love books and proof of how quickly I read. Hopefully it will pay off. As soon as I’m able to support myself as a bartender, I’m moving to NYC and applying for internships.

2. If you could have dinner with any author (dead or alive) who would it be?

The old answer was Dean Koontz, actually. I noticed that in his later books, he really seemed to believe in absolute good and absolute evil. I wanted to sit down and talk to him about his worldview. I mentioned that at my interview at Barnes & Noble. A patron heard me and told me that Koontz had converted to Catholicism. Weird, huh? A horror author converts to Catholicism.

Now, I just want to hand out with the peeps at the next Fantasy Convention. It’s all authors and cocktail parties.

3. Do you have a secret favorite book? A guilty pleasure?

If I had to pick an absolute favorite book, it would have to be Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, but usually when someone asks me that question, I make them ask me by sub-genre. I don’t have any guilty pleasures now, but when I was in medical school I devoured the Blaze and Desire romance imprints (you know, the girl porn imprints).

4. Sum up your day, your life, or yourself using just six words.

I hope it all works out.

5. Do you have any advice for fellow book bloggers?

I don’t consider myself the most successful book blogger in the world. Even for someone blogging for only six months, I don’t have that many followers and subscribers. I think it’s because I don’t comment enough on other people’s blogs. So, my advice is comment, comment, comment.

Thank you so much Cara for letting me interview and feature you!! Be sure to check out her blog and add it to your GoogleReaders!

FreeVerse {6} Bukowski

Hosted By : Ohh Books!

I went to the library last week and picked a few Bukowski books. Can I just say now how much I’m falling in love with is work?! I’m sorry to post the same author twice in a row

oh, yes

there are worse things than

being alone

but it often takes decades

to realize this

and most often

when you do

it’s too late

and there’s nothing worse

than

too late.

twilight musings

the drifting of the mind

the slow loss, the leaking away.

one’s demise is not very interesting.

from my bed I watch 3 birds through the east window:

one coal black, one dark brown, the

other yellow.

as night falls I watch the red lights on the bridge blink on and off.

I am stretched out in bed with the covers up to my chin.

I have no idea who won at the racetrack today.

I must go back into the hospital tomorrow.

why me?

why not?

Be sure to check out my post on Ooh Books!

and my mini-interview with Cara here!!

All Thing Urban Fantasy’s 300 Follower Giveaway!!

Head over to All Thing Urban Fantasy to enter to win the Mercy Thompson series!!

Her Reviews of The Mercy Thompson Series
Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2)
Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)

What are you waiting for?! Head over now!!

Recommend a Book!

Now that I’m doing What Should I Read?, I’m looking for suggestions for books!!

Just click here and fill out the simple form!

(You can also click on the image in the sidebar!)

What’s in it for you?

You will be helping a fellow reader & spreading the word about your favorite books!!

I’ll also link you when I review the book and will be giving out prizes

to random submitters from time to time!!

Thank you!

P.A.B.D. – What is it and how do you live with it?

P.A.B.D. has plagued me on and off for my entire life. I know many bookworms who are faced with the same problem. Please read on to see if you have PABD and see how you can help yourself or others suffering with this.

So what is P.A.B.D.?

Post Amazing Book Depression – The over-whelming sad feeling one gets after finishing a great book.

Signs of P.A.B.D.

• missing characters
  • often includes talking about characters in day to day life
    • ex. I wonder what Katsa and Po are doing.
    • ex. Do you think Cat and Bones will get married?
    • ex. If she doesn’t choose Eric, I don’t know how I’ll survive.
      • (side note: If your friends do not understand the above phrases, you need new friends.)
  • hearing songs that remind you of certain characters/scenes
• constant rereading of the same book
  • extreme cases can lead to the reading of fan-fiction
• stalking of the author
  • constantly checking their blog for updates
  • Googling interviews in which the book (or series) are mentioned
  • joining multiple fansites
• lack of interest in other books
  • finding yourself staring at your bookshelf and seeing nothing worth reading
  • wandering around the bookstore/library picking up and putting back books

(source)

How to live with P.A.B.P.

• Reread the book!
  • You can revisit your favorite characters while coming across details you may have missed.
• Find other books by the same author.
  • Is there more in the series?
• Search for books with similar themes.
  • Thanks to the hard work some dedicated book lovers, you can find sites that help you find books similar to those you love.
    • If You Like, Try…
  • Use Amazon to see what others are buying that liked the book.
• Have a rebound book.
  • Keep a favorite book on hand to immerse yourself in.
• Force a friend to read the book
  • This will give you a chance to experience reading the book through someone else.
  • You will then have someone to endlessly discuss the book with.

Do you have PABD? How do you deal with it?

2010 Resolutions!

Lately I’ve been feeling like there just isn’t enough hours in the day and I could really, really use that extra 25th hour for reading (and blogging). So even though I’ve got my reading challenges and some 101 reading goals, I’d like to set some new goals for 2010.

• read at least 3 books a month
• write a review for each finished book within a week of reading it
• actually participate in weekly memes at least 3 weeks a month
  • What Should I Read This Week?
  • Tattoo Tuesdays
  • FreeVerse
  • Friday Firsts
  • In My Mailbox
  • Weekly Geeks
• feature other book bloggers more often

I can’t think of anything else at the moment… but I’m sure they’ll come to me as soon as I publish this…

What are your 2010 Reading/Blogging Goals?

Custom Header & Badge Giveaway Winner!!

I used random.org to pick a winner for a custom header and badge to revamp their blog for the new year and the winner is….

Patricia’s Vampire Notes

I’ve sent her an email and will start on her design as soon as I hear back from her! Thank you to everyone that entered!!

Book Blogger Holiday Swap!

(Find out more about the Book Blogger Holiday Swap here.)

I absolutely LOVED my gift from my secret santa and as it ends up I was her secret santa too! She got me Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl & Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake (from my Amazon wish-list!).